My Report to Council

Posted By: Alan Taylor
Date Posted: 10/02/2009

REPORT OF THE LEADER OF THE COUNCIL TO THE MEETING OF THE COUNCIL ON 4TH FEBRUARY 2009


Thank you Mr Mayor for the opportunity to report to the Council the latest developments on various matters relating to the Leader of the Council

May I start by thanking my Deputy, Councillor Irene Davidson, for her help and support during my period of illness, and thanks also for the support and best wishes I have received from Members, Officers and Partners during this period. I have just had a pacemaker and defibrillator fitted to my heart, at Rochdale Infirmary, which really is a centre of excellence for cardiac problems, and hopefully this should remove all the symptoms I've been having, and I hope to be back at full speed very soon.

I am delighted with the response to this year’s Liberal Democrat Big Clean campaign. The Big Clean will improve the environment and appearance of local streets and enhance the quality of life for residents. The clean-up blitz starts now. Everyone has the right to live somewhere they can be proud of, and the Big Clean should help make this a reality. We know from talking to residents that improving the way an area looks can have a positive impact on fear of crime. Over the past few months, people across the borough have been having their say as part of the Big Clean and telling us which areas they think should be tidied up with the extra £100,000 that has become available. Sites in Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale have all been selected.

Rochdale Borough Council has joined forces with the Energy Saving Trust (EST). The partnership will help local people, businesses and the council save money on energy bills and reduce the carbon footprint left by the Borough. The Council is one of 30 other local authorities across the UK that have been selected to work in partnership with the EST to carry out extensive programmes in order to produce carbon reduction action plans and reduce emissions.


We have also made a significant commitment by signing the Nottingham Declaration - a pledge by local authorities to take action on climate change. This marks a significant step towards improving the Council’s own environmental impact in a number of different ways. We and our partners will now effectively co-ordinate our efforts to make the borough an even greener, cleaner place to live, work and do business.

We have unveiled a brand new fleet of recycling vehicles which will make the collection of recyclable waste much more efficient, reliable and environmentally friendly. The launch of the new vehicles follows news from the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority that the council is sending the least amount of rubbish to landfill out of all the authorities in Greater Manchester.

Children and young people across the Borough had their say about the future of their town as part of ‘The Big Listen’. Dozens of workshops and events were staged in schools, children’s centres and community venues.

Youngsters from the majority of secondary schools in the Borough have attended a jobs fair aimed at showing them the kinds of careers available at the council. We are determined to reverse the trend of our talented youngsters leaving the Borough by encouraging them to look at career options with the council. Our young people are the future – not only of the Borough – but of the Council itself and we want to do all we can to make sure they get the education they need as well as making sure there are good jobs for them at the end of that process. There is a bright future for Rochdale with more jobs being created – including opportunities at the new Kingsway Business Park – so it’s important that we give the next generation the best chance of getting those jobs.

In these challenging times we are making sure we offer as much help and support as possible to help local residents and businesses. With many feeling the impact of the credit crunch it’s important to remember that support is available. Assistance for residents struggling with debt and advice on how to take the benefits to which they are entitled to is a top priority.

We have also agreed to pay invoices from small and medium businesses more quickly – with immediate effect. Businesses that employ fewer than 250 people and have an annual turnover of less than £40 million should receive payment for their invoices within 10 days of receipt, provided that there are no queries on the invoices.

240 Rochdale Borough Council staff who have ‘delivered exceptional service’ were honoured at a special awards presentation, part of National Customer Services week. Dealing with people is a crucial part of all of our jobs and it's important that we acknowledge this when it's done well.

There are now more exciting things for young people to do following the launch of a new youth bus. Rochdale Youth Council’s young people have funded the first bus, named ‘Where it’s at’ – a specially designed single decker coach packed full of equipment to entertain and educate youngsters that will travel throughout Rochdale, Heywood, Middleton and the Pennines. The aim is to provide positive activities in a high tech supportive environment in areas of the Borough where there are few or no youth facilities.

Work on building the new £17.6 million St Anne’s Academy in Middleton has started. This new school is part of the Building Schools for the Future programme, which will see a radical transformation of secondary education in the borough. The new Academy on Hollin Lane, Middleton will accommodate 900 pupils and include the creation of new buildings together with the total refurbishment of one of the existing school blocks.

We have been praised by Ofsted in their annual performance assessment of children’s services departments nationwide. We were judged to be ‘Good’ and given a Grade 3 rating, with Ofsted concluding that the council provides a service that delivers above the minimum requirements for young people. In the most part, this is a pleasing result, but clearly we still have a number of areas for development. We will continue our relentless focus on doing the best we possibly can, at every level.
Residents of the Borough can be assured of 5 star customer service from our Customer Service Centres. All seven have been successfully awarded the Cabinet Office's new prestigious Customer Service Excellence standard. Rochdale is one of only 17 organisations in the North West to have achieved this standard, launched last year. On awarding the standard, the Assessor’s main observation was the very high regard that customers have for the Customer Service Centre’s and their service.
Live Life, the big public healthy living show will return to the Borough in March. The giant health exhibition, held in partnership with Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale NHS and Rochdale Borough Council will have lots of ideas to help you lead a healthier lifestyle with a huge range of interactive demonstrations, exciting activities and presentations.
Finally, the referendum regarding the Transport Innovation Fund Bid was held, and Rochdale gave a resounding 'No' vote. As Leader of our Council, it is my job to support proposals which I believe will benefit the Borough. However, I accept the decision of the people of our Borough, and we will now continue to look at other ways to bring in funding to improve Rochdale's public transport system. The extension of the Metrolink to Rochdale Town Centre, in particular, is vital to the big plans we have for the development of the Town Centre.
I want to see trams running into Rochdale Town Centre because that's what trams are supposed to do. My other priority will be to get funding to redevelop Rochdale Station as a transport interchange and a major park and ride centre, in fact all the things that we put forward with the TIF proposals. The Government are saying that they are looking for public capital projects to protect the country from the worst effect of the recession. As far as transport is concerned, Greater Manchester, through AGMA, have got detailed and mainly costed plans for all the improvements that were going to take place before any congestion charging was introduced. That was almost £3000Million, and AGMA should submit proposals to get permission to spend some of that money, and any other money that is available. We have lost 30 years investment in public transport, and are now faced with bidding on an annual basis for a much smaller budget. If the Government are serious about public spending, Rochdale and AGMA have the plans in place.

Councillor Alan Taylor Leader of the Council
28.1.2009